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Hi, I'm Ali Oneill
and I'm the jewellery expert for comparejewellery.com
You want a white metal ring?
Not sure which metal to choose?
Today I'm going to take you through the 3 most likely
options
And they are
white gold
palladium
and finally platinum
First we have white gold
which comes in 9 carat or 18 carat
9 carat is the cheapest
and that's because it only has
37.5%
gold in it
the rest is made up of much cheaper metals like zinc and silver.
18 carat has a much higher percentage of gold at 75%
which makes it much more expensive, but also yellower
both of these metals 18 carat and 9 carat gold are both not white, they're slightly yellow
so the ring is given
a fine plating of rhodium which is
a precious white metal, very expensive
which is why
the coating is only a thousandth of a millimetre thick, very thin.
Which is why it's not surprising
that it wears off very quickly
and it will have to be re-plated with rhodium again
and your jeweller will probably charge you for it
which adds to the cost of owning a white gold ring over time
At the better quality end
you will find 18 carat white gold mixed with palladium
now this is often found in jewellery made in Britain
now this gives a much whiter finish. It's still not quite white it's a little bit
grey
but is perfectly acceptable for most people
so you won't have to have it
re-plated as often
if at all
Secondly we have palladium
which is a sister metal to platinum
it's a lighter metal
which means it won't have the weighty feel of the other metals
but it is priced in between 9 carat white gold
and 18 carat white gold
and it's not as readily available
because it's new to the market and it's quite difficult to work with
but it's worth searching out.
A good quality jeweller should be able to help you out and make one to order for you
And lastly we have platinum
which although
it's a third more expensive than 18 carat white gold
it's worth upgrading for a ring that will last a lot longer
platinum is typically 95% pure which means it doesn't need plating
it just stays as it is as a beautiful bright white metal. It's harder
which means it does last longer and it's heavier
which gives you a nice weighty feel to the ring
So in summary, whilst all metals are fine
they all have their advantages and disadvantages and all white gold is fine for
earrings and pendants
but for rings my personal view is that the cheaper white golds come with a
higher degree of maintenance
I would personally recommend that if you can afford it
upgrade to platinum
because it lasts longer and is hassle free